iJust Dropped in (to See What Condition My Condition Was in)

Carly and Melanie surprise Sam at her and Cat's place. Carly, Sam, and Melanie then fly to Seattle to surprise Freddie.

When I wrote I, Carly, Sam, and Freddie, PD31 commented that I put way too much blame of the situation at the end of iCarly on Freddie. After some reflection, I figured that s/he had a point, so I thought about how to resolve the situation that is a bit fairer to everyone. The problem was that the way the series played out, I could not come up with something that would take some of the burden off of him and have a precedent within the series' continuity – IMHO, the Freddie character had been so undermined by asking Sam out and then celebrating his kiss with Carly that there was no other place that I could put any blame.

Then Sam & Cat's "#TheKillerTunaJump" episode came out. When I saw that there was a lack of follow-up in subsequent episodes and that the ending to "iGoodbye" seemed to have been conveniently forgotten, I figured I had the basis for the story I wanted which would respect the shows' continuities and characterisations, insofar as one would be able to.

I don't own iCarly.

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Prologue – March, Senior Year: iSlow Date

Freddie Benson took the books from his AP Biology class out of his locker. He paused to look at Shane on his right, who seemed to be stealing glances at him. After satisfying himself that he had been seeing things, he sighed and shut his locker.

Gibby Gibson walked up to him from behind, positioned himself between Freddie and Shane, and hit his fist at the top of Freddie's locker.

"So, who're you going with to the Sadie Hawkins Dance, Fred-man?"

Freddie sighed again and then turned to look up at Gibby while Jeremy opened the locker behind Freddie. Freddie shrugged blandly. "Eh, I don't think I'm going." He paused as he saw Gibby's face turn hard. He shrugged before continuing. "No one really to go with."

Gibby cocked an eyebrow as Shane closed his locker. Shane turned to look at Freddie and then walked up next to Gibby. "Wow, that's tough, Freddie," he stated flatly, in a very stilted manner. "Because I have heard that you should be in demand this year."

Freddie paused and shifted his weight back and forth on his feet. "Um," was all he could manage as he grasped vainly for an apt reply. After a few moments, Gibby and Shane grinned wickedly at his discomfiture. Eventually, Freddie continued with, "Well, I think that no one has really asked me exactly. I think girls are just checking my interest."

Gibby and Shane laughed uncontrollably. A few more mathletes and techies encircled them as the laughter died.

Shane recovered first. "Oh, sure, they were 'just checking your interest.'" He looked up at Gibby with a conspiratorial look. "No way, Gib. He's just told a bunch of girls that he will, and I quote, 'think about it.'"

An astounded Freddie glared at Shane. "Where did you get garbage like that from, ahem, buddy?"

Shane turned to grin wickedly and triumphantly at Freddie. "From Wendy and Patrice – you know, my friends who asked you out."

Jeremy closed his locker, turned to face Freddie, and then jumped in. "Really?" Freddie turned to his left to face him and protest, but was ignored. "I heard that he said to Valerie that he would get back to her, but hasn't in almost a week in spite of invitations to do so."

Directly behind Shane, Reuben pushed himself forward and countered with, "Nuh-uh. My sister's friends, Jamie and Ariane, asked again and he said he didn't know if his mother would let him."

Brad then charged up from behind Jeremy and mock-protested. "Wrong – Rebecca and Lesley said that he has a tech conference in New York that I know nothing about."

Freddie stopped turning, leant back against his locker, and groaned. Gibby tapped him on the top of his head. Freddie lifted his head to look straight at him. Gibby had a deadly serious look on his face. "Freddie, what's going on?"

Freddie shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. It just feels wrong for me to go to the dance."

Gibby looked up at the ceiling as if he was pleading for help as the others around him showed their displeasure. He finally came back to stare down at Freddie. "Look, Fred-man, you can't just wait for Sam and Carly to get back just so that you can avoid deciding between them again, you know. It's not fair to them or the people here."

Reuben turned Freddie a bit sideways. "Like it or not, Freddie, you are the first domino to fall for the science and tech guys. No one is going to ask us to the dance until you at least tell someone, 'no.'"

Jeremy then moved around to face Freddie. "And, unfortunately for us, we're all single again."

"Let's not dwell on that," Shane mumbled.

Brad then walked around to stand next to Gibby and to face Freddie. "Now wait a minute," he broke in, but with a sneaky edge. "Maybe one of them is coming back. How about Sam? What happened on that trip to California?"

Freddie shrugged hopelessly. "Sam and I reconnected after all the problems her roommate caused. Once I recovered from the injuries, we went out a few times before I had to come back for this last semester."

Jeremy nodded ruefully. "And is she coming back here?"

Freddie shrugged again. "She's started a decent, honest business down there. I don't want her to abandon something honest and successful for me and-"

Shane interrupted him. "Uh huh. And what about Carly?"

Freddie looked at Shane with an embarrassed look. "She was supposed to come back after four months, but after she found out her father was being rotated back this coming August, she decided to wait with him there."

Gibby nodded triumphantly as Shane crossed his arms over his chest. "Freddie, they're not here. Sure, they're our closest friends from childhood, but Freddie, you've got to expand your horizons."

Brad chimed in. "Yeah, Freddie. It's almost like you don't want to know what other options there might be out there – who might be waiting for you right now."

Reuben added, "Yeah. You've been missing out on all the couples' activities and have been avoiding parties because you'd be the only guy going stag. Remember how you were complaining at the fall dance that all of us had dates and you were the only one alone?"

Freddie nodded glumly. "Don't remind me."

Reuben shook his head. "Hey, we were either dating or asked somebody. You could have asked someone; you didn't have to spend your night with your mom, Spencer, and Mrs. Puckett."

"And this time, you have options," Jeremy noted.

Gibby pressed some more. "Yah, dude, who else has asked you out?"

Freddie heaved another sigh. "All right. Missy seemed to think her past was water under the bridge-"

"And is it?" Gibby asked.

Freddie shook his head. "Nope – how can I forgive her for trying to split my closest friends?"

Shane nodded. "That's true."

Reuben followed up with, "So who else?"

As Freddie was about to respond, Maddie approached them from behind Gibby and Shane. She asked for their pardon as she stepped between them and interrupted their conversation. "Hi, Freddie."

"Hi, Maddie."

Maddie flashed him a nervous smile. "Um, do you have a date for the Sadie Hawkins dance on Friday?"

Freddie shook his head as Gibby and Shane looked at him expectantly. "Nope. Not yet, anyway."

Emboldened by his response, Maddie continued. "I know that you tried to tried to impress me with your fake band and I got upset at you for trying to pick me up with a lie, but I was hoping that if I could overlook that, then we could start afresh and, uh, you could, maybe, go to the dance with me."

Freddie smiled warmly at her. "Maybe. Let me think about it." Gibby, Reuben, Jeremy, Shane, and Brad let out a collection of groans, grunts, and expletives.

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A.N. – You should recognise all of the females mentioned here from various iCarly episodes. Obviously, all of the guys are the potential male peers Freddie would have at Ridgeway.